Free Republic

The data says millennials don't lack work ethic, but they'll never be able to afford what other generations take for granted. The popular millennial copypasta goes something like this: First experience with serious job hunting comes on the heels of the 2008 financial crisis Can't take advantage of correction in home prices because too young to have made any money, and wage growth stagnates anyway Homes rocket to new highs, no chance of catching up now by just working a 9-5 like your parents Late 20s/early 30s, try investing as it's your last chance to make it Get obliterated again...

The IRS released inflation-adjusted marginal rates and brackets for 2023 on Tuesday, and many workers will see higher take-home pay in the new year as less tax is withheld from their paychecks. Additionally, the agency released the standard deduction for next year. It is increasing by $900 to $13,850 for single taxpayers, and by $1,800 for married couples, to $27,700. For heads of household, the 2023 standard deduction will be $20,800. That’s an increase of $1,400. Here are the marginal rates for tax year 2023, depending on your tax status. Single filers – 10%: income of $11,000 or less –...

The IRS has announced inflation adjustments to the standard deduction and other tax provisions for the 2023 tax year. The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2023 will rise to $27,700, up $1,800 from tax year 2022. The standard deduction is the amount taxpayers can subtract from their income, before they owe taxes on the rest. (You cannot take the standard deduction if you itemize your deductions.) For single taxpayers and married people filing separately, the standard deduction will rise to $13,850, up $900; for heads of households, it will rise to $20,800, up $1,400. People...

It's no secret that inflation is taking a bite out of Americans' wallets right now - and, even with wages rising over the past year, most salaries aren't keeping up with skyrocketing prices. But if your salary hasn't kept up with inflation, there might be a bit of relief come tax day in 2024. On Tuesday, the IRS released its inflation-adjusted guidelines for 2023, readjusting the tax brackets. For instance, the top tax rate of 37% stays the same, but the amount of income to qualify for it rose from $539,900 to $578,125. Meanwhile, the lowest rate of 10% will...

The IRS is a climate agency now. The massive climate and energy law enacted by Democrats in August puts the IRS at the forefront of the effort to incentivize renewable energy across the economy. Of the nearly $370 billion of climate spending in the new law, about $270 billion will be delivered through tax incentives for electric vehicles, energy-efficient buildings, solar power and other “clean” energy technologies. “The IRS is at the center of it because the way that you get this cash that the federal government has basically earmarked for all these things is through tax credits and benefits...

Jeremy Hunt took a wrecking ball to 'lame duck' Liz Truss's economic policies today in a desperate bid to calm the markets - as Tories warn she must be gone in days. The new Chancellor said he was propping up 'confidence' with an extraordinary dismantling of 'almost all' the disastrous mini-Budget, two weeks ahead of schedule and barely three days after he was parachuted into the job. He 'indefinitely' ditched plans to knock 1p off the basic rate of tax from April, one of the PM's flagship measures, as well as torching dividends cuts, the freeze on alcohol duty and...

Eight dollars for a gallon of gas. Once, it seemed like an impossibility; now, it seems to happen in California every time there is a price spike. Last week, a Chevron station in Los Angeles recorded prices of $8.35 and above; similar prices were reported at multiple stations around Southern California

If the “progressive” politicians in Wellington have their way, New Zealand’s cows and sheep will soon be taxed for the flatulence they produce. It is one of the most outrageous proposals to come of the hysteria over “climate change.” The liberal-dominated government of New Zealand is apparently willing to jeopardize their countrymen’s livelihood and very food supply over livestock that they claim are emitting too much “greenhouse gas” into the atmosphere via belching, farting and urinating. New Zealand website Stuff reported that the scheme unveiled this week will impose levies on livestock herders, as a means of presumably offsetting the...

The Biden administration introduced a new regulation Tuesday that would make it harder for employers to misclassify workers as “independent contractors” to avoid minimum wage and overtime laws. The proposal from the White House would replace an earlier, more business-friendly rule created by the Trump administration that set looser guidelines around who could be considered a contractor in the workplace. Labor Department officials said the previous administration’s rule increased the likelihood of workers being exploited. Employers often mislabel their workers as contractors in order to evade workplace laws or shift certain costs of employment onto workers. Gig companies like Uber...

Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand on Tuesday unveiled plans to tax the greenhouse gas emissions from farm animals, in a controversial proposal designed to tackle climate change. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the levy would be the first of its kind in the world. The scheme would see farmers pay for gas emissions from their animals, such as methane gas in the farts and burps from cows, and nitrous oxide in the urine of livestock. Ardern told farmers they should be able to recoup the cost by charging more for climate-friendly products. She said the "pragmatic proposal" would reduce agricultural...

Former President Trump is opening up his wallet to save Herschel Walker, whose Senate campaign has been reeling from allegations he paid for a woman to abort his child. Trump endorsed the one-time NFL star early in Georgia’s GOP Senate primary and Walker’s showing next month will be a big test of the former president’s continued influence with voters. Make American Great Again Inc., a Trump-backed Super PAC, injected $750,000 into ad spending in the Peach State in support of Walker, Politico reported Friday. An ad for the group now airing leans heavily into culture war issues and attacks against...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will call a special session of the state legislature to address the state’s highest-in-the-nation gasoline prices, including a possible new tax on oil industry profits. Speaking to reporters in Sacramento, Mr. Newsom said he will call the special session to start Dec. 5, after new legislators elected in November are seated. “Greed and manipulation, that’s all this is,” Mr. Newsom said of California’s gasoline prices, the only in the nation currently averaging above $6. In cities including Los Angeles, some stations are charging more than $7 for regular unleaded. Speaking of oil companies, he...

If ordinary taxpayers fail to file returns, congressional Democrats hire 87,000 new IRS agents to punish them. Yet if the IRS destroys 30 million “tax information” returns without even processing, those Democrats actively block attempts to demand an explanation. Apparently, Democrats think transparency is unnecessary for tax collectors for the welfare state. For those who missed the original story, some background is in order, especially to understand how astonishingly brazen the Democrats are in refusing to hold the IRS accountable. On May 22, the treasury inspector general for tax administration reported that the IRS deliberately destroyed 30 million returns in...

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has ruled in a three-to-two vote that the is constitutional, according to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Morrisey announced this afternoon, Oct. 6, 2022, that the court reversed the decision handed down by a Kanawha County Circuit Court judge that blocked the Hope Scholarship. West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore says the Hope Scholarship program will be up and running again “effective immediately.” “I want to thank the WV Supreme Court for ruling that the Hope Scholarship is constitutional!” Moore said. “This is a win for West...

Tim Michels isn’t saying what a flat tax would look like if he becomes governor, but he says he’s open to the idea. Michels, who is running for governor as the Republican candidate, on Wednesday said he’s willing to take a look at changing Wisconsin’s personal income tax. "I'm going to sit down with all the smart tax people, we're going to figure out how low we can get the income tax," Michels said at a stop at a tavern in Baraboo. "Right now, it looks like we could get it somewhere just below 5%.” Wisconsin’s personal income tax rates...

Mayor LaToya Cantrell to repay $30k in city money spent on first-class flights . She had justified it by saying flying economy was 'unsafe' for black women .. City policy requires her to find cheapest fare or reimburse the expenses . Cantrell also admitted living rent-free in the apartment located in the city's Upper Pontalba building on Jackson Square . ... The city's Metropolitan Crime Commission sent a report to the city council Thursday asking for an investigation into Cantrell's use of the apartment . ... LaToya Cantrell, the controversial Democrat mayor of New Orleans, has said she will repay...

Politico appears to believe that the mountains of cash that taxpayers dish out to the federal government belong to President Joe Biden’s own “wallet.” The liberal outlet tried to go after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for being a persistent Biden critic, and ended up making itself look totally stupid in the process. Politico harrumphed: “Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a persistent critic of President Joe Biden on nearly every policy front as he moves toward a likely potential 2024 presidential bid. But the Florida Republican likes one thing about the president: his wallet.” Yikes.

The Florida Motor Fuel Tax Relief Act will take effect on Saturday. Governor DeSantis signed the tax rate reduction into law.

One of the biggest advantages of Social Security is that its payments get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). When inflation is high -- as seniors have seen during the past couple of years -- these COLAs cause monthly checks to rise the following January to help retiree purchasing power keep pace. 2022's COLA boosted benefits by 5.9% this year, and early estimates make it likely that the COLA that will take effect in early 2023 will be between 8% and 9%. What's even better news is that, unlike in 2022, many Social Security recipients are more likely to see the full...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is lashing out at oil companies who he says are “fleecing” Californians with gasoline prices that are rising disproportionately in the Golden State. “The fact is, they’re ripping you off. Their record profits are coming at your expense,” Newsom said in a scathing video posted to Twitter Friday in which the governor called for a new windfall tax on oil companies. Newsom said the windfall tax would “ensure these profits go directly back to help millions of Californians who are paying for this oil company extortion.”